One Midwest girl's words about living on grace in Portland

I cleaned out my pool bag today, after an entire summer of almost daily swimming trips. It weighed about 25 pounds and was getting harder and harder to carry. In fact, it was so heavy, it made me not want to go to the pool, which is why I decided it was time to look inside. I found a numerous variety of snacks, 4 bottles of water, 1 can of La Croix, and 25 pool toys. The bottles of water and the snacks were from the beginning of summer. And we only played with 1 toy all year, a rubber football. You know why we didn’t eat the snacks or play with the other toys? We didn’t know they were there, underneath the clutter and mess. So I cleaned everything out. I simplified the toys. I switched out the snacks. I reduced the water bottles. And today, when we went to the pool, we knew there were fun toys to play with and new snacks to eat.
Sometimes this happens with our lives. We keep piling more and more into our schedules. We keep adding more and more into our daily routine. And before long, our days are heavy and our schedules are hard to carry. We worry and dread about how were going to get everything done.
I think this time of year is the perfect time to be purposeful and protective of our schedules. As we transition back into the routine of school, we have the opportunity to guard our calendars. By being selective and careful about what we add into our planners, we can reduce stress and actually enjoy our daily tasks. (The Best Yes by Lysa Terkeurst goes deep into this. I highly recommend it.)
Our hearts can become just like my pool bag. They can become crowded and congested with clutter. When we begin to unpack what’s weighing us down, we wonder where the mess came from. And when we begin to remember what’s underneath, we remember what inspires us and gives us joy. When we simplify our schedules we allow ourselves the opportunity to actually enjoy what we’re doing. We also set ourselves up to succeed and thrive in what we are doing, instead of just trying to survive.
Soon we’ll trade out the pool bags for back packs and gym bags. Our schedules will be filled with homework and practice. Let’s aim to keep our bags filled with the essentials and leave the clutter out. Lysa sums it up perfectly, “Every day we make choices. Then our choices make us”. Like I tell my kids, let’s make good choices!